Oklahoma City has one of the strongest metropolitan economies in the U.S. today. Oklahoma City is a community with stability in its job market, home market and income. We have had the lowest unemployment rate in the country for 12 of the last 19 months, coming in at 2nd or 3rd for the remaining seven. And the employment outlook remains good, with 74% of the primary job employers interviewed by the Chamber last year planning to hire more employees. Our per capita income is growing, outpacing the national average and the average for metro cities, growing by 12.5 percent in the last two years. Our housing values did not see the volatility experienced in other markets, and while sales volume is down slightly, prices have shown some gains.

Oklahoma City is the 47th largest metro economy in the nation with a Gross Metropolitan Product (GMP) of $58.3 billion. If Oklahoma City were a country, it would be the 118th largest economy in the world. Every year we are required to, and always successfully, balance our budget.

Oklahoma City has the 3rd lowest commute time among the 52 largest cities in the country according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.. The average one-way commute is 21.4 minutes, compared with 28.4 for Long Beach. A 15-mile commute takes an average of 17 minutes. Among cities of comparable size, we have by far the lowest commute time in the nation.

Public safety is very important in OKC. It makes up 53% of the city operating budget and 65% of the general fund budget. In fact, more than $56 million of the 2007 GO Bond went directly to police and fire departments of Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City citizens have dedicated a lot of resources to these important entities, and in fact there is a 3/4 cent dedicated sales tax for police and fire now. According to an August 2009 survey by the City of Oklahoma City, 92 percent of citizens are satisfied with the quality of fire services. Neighborhood associations are also very active. Go to www.nacok.org for more information.

OKC counts every 911 call as an "incident," even if there is simply a cat in a tree. And, if the authorities arrive on the scene, and it is a false alarm, it is still counted. Most cities do not count this way, leading "crimes" to be drastically over-reported in our crime statistics. Oklahoma City is a very safe city. In fact, citizen satisfaction with police services rose by 11% and "safety perceptions" increased by 17% since 2008 in the most recent OKC Citizen Survey (August 2009).

Lake Hefner has property within walking distance, but not on the lakefront. Large municipal lakes in and around Oklahoma City generally do not offer private waterfront residential property, but many private subdivisions offer their own lakefront property. Ski Island and Blue Stem subdivisions in Oklahoma City offer waterfront property on private lakes, among others. The best idea is to consult an area real estate agent or a website like LakeHomesUSA.com.

Yes. Believe it or not, Oklahoma City has an abundance of fantastic sushi restaurants from which to choose, such as Sushi Neko and Park Harvey Sushi Restaurant. For general seafood, Pearl's Oyster Bar, Hefner Grill and The Shack Seafood and Oyster Bar are also local favorites. We also have several seafood markets, such as Avalon Seafood Market, and there are some well-known supermarkets in the Asian District that have fresh seafood as well.

We have an average range of temperatures throughout the year between 36.7 degrees and 82 degrees.

Summer: July has a mean temperature of 82 degrees. Fall: October has a mean temperature of 62 degrees. Winter: January has a mean temperature of 36.7 degrees. Spring: April has a mean temperature of 59.7 degrees.

Our average snowfall is 9.7 inches / year. We do experience one to two light "ice storms" each year. However, our City is well prepared to deal with these storms. Crews are very prompt in clearing the roads. We do not get enough snow to require tire chains in the winter. Occasionally schools and businesses will shut down when it's icy, although that only happens a couple of times a year and usually is for only one day. Schools usually build 2 - 3 weather days into their school year to use as needed. Any unused days off not used in the Winter are taken in the Spring.

Many people with swimming pools do not have to heat their pools at all. Your pool will not freeze if left unheated, though some manufacturers / installers recommend draining the pool to below the level of the filters if covering and "closing" your pool for the winter.

No, Oklahoma City does not experience water rationing. Under rare circumstances, homeowners may be required to water on "even" or "odd" days, depending on their street address, but this is rare and usually lasts less than a week.